• Can a pneumonia cause lung cancer?

My mother was diagnosed with pneumonia one year back. It was quite serious as she was admitted in the hospital. However she came back home recovering from the condition. Around 6 months back she complained of a severe back pain and upon checking she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Can a pneumonia develop into lung cancer?

11 Answers

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Grosse Pointe, MI

That would be very rare however sometimes lung cancer may appear as pneumonia discuss the situation with the doctors.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Jamestown, NY

It's the lung cancer that can cause pneumonia by blocking the airways.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Elmhurst, IL

No, generally, people do develop pneumonia when part of The lung gets blocked off by a tumor. I do not think there is any evidence that pneumonia can cause lung cancer.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Rochester, MN

Pneumonia and lung cancer are distinct entities. Lung cancer can predispose a patient to getting pneumonia as a result of the tumor blocking the airways, as is seen in post-obstructive pneumonia. However, the reverse is not true.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Old Bridge, NJ

Very unlikely for pneumonia to progress to lung cancer. Most likely there was lung cancer with associated pneumonia.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Faairhope, Al

No, the cancer caused the pneumonia.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Kissimmee, FL

No. Most likely, she has already had cancer which obstructed the bronchus and obstructive pneumonia.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Sun City West, Arizona

Not usually. The cause of her lung cancer is the smoking she has been doing all those years.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Denton and Plano, Texas

Short answer: Not with only one episode of pneumonia.
Longer answer: We know that chronic irritation of the lung can lead to a type of lung cancer called Squamous Cell, but by chronic, I mean years and years of nonstop irritation. And even then it would have to be in the same location as the irritation. IF the cancer was in the same spot as the pneumonia, the likely answer is that the cancer was there at the time, it just could not be seen because of the pneumonia.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Beverly Hills, Florida

No, is the short answer. There could have been a small tumor in the lung which perhaps blocked off the airway passage and caused pneumonia down the track. If the tumor is small, it cannot be visualized on imaging studies. It was probably picked up as it got larger over time.

  • Radiation Oncologist
  • Louisburg, North Carolina

No pneumonia cannot cause lung cancer.

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